Dumfries House Wedding Pre-Shoot - Joanne & Jordan
I always feel like I say the same things in my blogs – the couple were lovely, the weather was either amazing or absolutely pee’ing it down (the latter in this case) and the location was bloody stunning.
And the thing is, there’s a reason I repeat myself. All my couples are ruddy lovely. In fact, they’re more than that, they’re all right good eggs who I find myself having a proper laugh with. The weather, well, we’re in Scotland. It’s either raining or we’re so pleasantly surprised that it’s NOT raining that we think the weather is amazing. And the locations. Again, it’s Scotland. What can I say. You can’t take more than a few steps without coming across an incredible view, a gritty, graffiti’d alleyway or a wild, deserted beach. Scotland is pretty ace (I say that a lot too!).
Rest assured, this blog will be no different. I am about to wax lyrical about the wonderful Joanne and Jordan who are super, super lovely. They’ve also got a wee bit of a height difference. Jordan is really tall and Joanne…isn’t. So they were a little worried ahead of our pre-wedding shoot. But, that’s the whole point of pre-wedding shoots right, for couples to see that it’s not absolutely terrifying to be in front of my camera. In fact, it might even be rather fun.
As you can see from these photos, it all worked out fine. They had absolutely nothing to fret about. Joanne and Jordan looked awesome and we had a very joyful evening wandering around the gardens at the gorgeous Dumfries House.
Dumfries House Wedding Pre-Shoot
This is such a fab venue, but first, to clear something up, Dumfries House is not in Dumfries. I know, confusing. It’s actually in Ayrshire. The Estate belonged to the 5th Earl of Dumfries, William Crichton-Dalrymple (amazing name) who retired there in the mid 1700s. He commissioned the Adam Brothers to draw up plans for a new, grander house which, in 1754, Earl William declared would be named Dumfries House.
The new house was, when the first build was completed five years later, very grand. And, over the years, subsequent Earls added their own stamps to the place. For most folks that would mean painting the lounge a different colour or adding a downstairs loo. For the Earls that meant adding an extra wing or two. Luckily they all had taste and the extensions are all in keeping with the original Georgian house.
In 1993 the last resident of the house – Lady Eileen – passed away and the house was no longer a home. In 2007 it was put up for auction and purchased by one Prince, now King, Charles.
Over the last few decades huge improvements have been made to the grounds. Outbuildings have been refurbished and the estate itself has been transformed. Dumfries House offers training opportunities to young people and employment for locals. It’s a key part of the area and a popular wedding venue for couples from all over Scotland. It’s also great to visit and explore. Which is exactly what Joanne, Jordan and I did on a grey and wet May evening.
Dumfries House Wedding Photography
Imagine getting married here, imagine strolling these amazing grounds and all the scope for ace photos. I was in my element. I have photographed a wedding here before and it was amazing! I really loved it as a venue – so if you’re considering it, you have my stamp of approval!!
We started off with a few photos in front of the impressive stone steps, I love the pink hues to the gravel. Then we went off on a wee adventure. It was raining the whole time, but that was ok. We braved the showers in quick bursts but there were loads of places to hide. Again, absolutely perfect for a wedding day. It’s a venue that works well in any weather!
We found a few historic outbuildings to shelter in – and they made a fab backdrop for photos. Bonus! Then we stumbled upon a mad Chinese bridge surrounded by mega tall trees. It was so cool.
All in all we had a lot of fun. And I went home and thought about how much I want to photograph another Dumfries House wedding. So if you’re getting married there give me an email, I will do a little happy dance and love you forever. Plus you’d get ace photos. So a win win.
Sarah x
